Burmese Student Elections

Most Burmese students wear their own national dress. The man uses a "longi" (sarong) shirt and inevitably carries an umbrella, and instead of shoes for his feet he wears Burmese slippers. Their lovely girls, who have radiantly smooth complexions, are similarly dressed, except that their blouses are usually of a provocative nylon. The average Burmese student, whether in Rangoon or Mandalay, struck me as being very modest, quiet and preoccupied. He is exceedingly hospitable when he is introduced, but otherwise appears indifferent to the stranger. It is the same with the girls who at first gave the deceptive impression of being cold.

Established in 1920, the Rangoon University within a few years had already built up for itself a deep and revered tradition for service to and leadership of the Burmese masses. Burmese nationalism got its inspiration from the University and the students have always been associated with the fighting spirit and aggressive leadership. This tradition, unfortunately, has been carried forward even after independence.

Student elections are run on the basis of party politics. Each hostel of about 150 students has a "social and reading club", that is comparable to our hostel committee. There are two political parties, the Students' United Front (S.U.F.), which is leftist and anti-government, and the Vanguards who are moderate. The S.U.F. at present holds the reigns of student government. The political machinery used by both sides is amazing, and politics is treated seriously. Both parties have hard core leaders in every hostel and these people organise "political cells" which become very much alive as soon as three months before election. During the period of campaigning there is an air of secrecy and restlessness permeating everywhere. Each side claims that there is moral and financial aid coming to the other from the chaotic political scene outside the campus. Very unfortunately, student politics is not confined to purely student problems and there have been a few student inspired demonstrations.

The elections, say the students, are really hectic. After months of energetic and strategic planning, election day is eruptive. The whole student population is represented by only nine student leaders who control the entire student government. This appeared to be somewhat ridiculous, as this system can provide for representation of broad student opinion only. Hence the anxiety to get the right party into power. Election fever runs very high and thousands of students— boys and girls—wait right through the night in the open field, to hear the latest in the count. There is dancing, and singing over microphones, and general rejoicing after every announcement. The rivalry is healthy and spirited and students show strong enthusiasm for Union work.

Despite their politics, which many of us would disapprove of, we nevertheless must respect their spirit. The Burmese student is first and foremost a good and proud Burmese citizen. He is dedicated and strongly nationalistic, and he is deeply conscious of his duty to his country and people. He does not [unclear: regard] a University education as a means to a better life for himself. There is no snobbery but rather simple modesty. He is sensitive to his people's needs, and is therefore not selfish but selfless. His degree, he feels, will place him in a better position to serve his country. I met one Burmese boy who had obtained a high agricultural degree. He was typical of his colleagues, for he was not going to work for a fat salary, but for the elevation of is poor folk in his native province in interior Burma. It is therefore natural that the Burmese people look up to the University as an institution that is their very own; dear, precious and inspiring.

Social life in the University is limited. There is little that you can do in Rangoon. The city is dirty, dusty and neglected. Life in this dejected city, that has suffered from the devastation of the Second World War and neglect afterwards due to the insurgent trouble, is dead after 10 p.m. The students, when not busy with politics and study, spend their time at the cinemas. Dance halls are few and expensive. The average Burmese undergrad does not usually come from the middle class family. He does not therefor enjoy the comparatively expensive and luxurious living of the student here.

Dances and balls are held in the campus. The boys at the hostels sometimes form serenading groups that visit the girls' hostels when the nights are clear. We joined some of them on one such occasion. The serenading party would sing outside the women's hostel gates, which are clased as early as 6 p.m. The women show their approval by looking out of their windows or corridors, and would often send for a "request" to be played or sung through the co-operation of the hostel gate-keeper. The Burmese girls are just as active and enthusiastic about University life as are the boys. But the girls are very conservative and it was not often that we saw boys and girls in groups. The type of male who fusses and frets over women is definitely an oddity in Burma.

Burma is a Buddist country. The thousands upon thousands of pagodas all over the country offer clear testimony to the grip the religion has on its people. But the Rangoon and Mandalay students, we found, generally regarded religion as a deterrent to their country's progress. The poor peasants spend beyond their means to build or maintain pagodas or temples. Economics, not religion, they feel, was going to improve the lot of the people.

—Ramon Navaratnam in "The Malayan Undergrad", reprinted in "Student Mirror."